Jackie O’Sullivan, Executive Director of Communications,
Advocacy
Advocacy is when you get support to have your say.
and
Activism
Activism is taking action to make change. Going to a
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
event with others, writing letters and speaking up are all ways to take action.
at the learning disability charity Mencap, said:
"The new report from MPs on the COVID response shows once again the suffering that people with a learning disability have faced. It highlights the unacceptably high death rate of people with a learning disability, the barriers people faced to accessing healthcare, and - in some instances - the use of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders placed on people’s files just because they had a learning disability. And despite people with a learning disability facing serious healthcare inequalities even before COVID, the Government failed to produce guidance
Guidance means being given clear instructions to be able to do something well. that considered their needs during the pandemic.
"The high death rate of people from ethnic minority groups is also appalling, and leaves people with a learning disability from ethnic minority backgrounds in danger of double discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. . . A recent report from the Race Equality
Equality is when everyone is treated fairly. Foundation pointed out that 40% of the disproportionate number of deaths of people with a learning disability were of people from Black and Pakistani communities.
"These inequalities can no longer by ignored. Even with the pandemic abating, we will still see people with a learning disability missing out on what they need from health services – something that happened even before COVID. This crisis must be the wake-up call that results in urgent system change. The Government needs to address the shocking levels of premature death that people with a learning disability continue to face."